March 9 in freethought history…

March 9, 1957 – Biologist, Pharyngula blogger and atheist activist Paul Zachary “PZ” Myers is born in Kent, Washington. Myers has been a lightning rod for controversy: he was criticized for desecrating a Eucharist; he was denied entry to a screening of the pro-intelligent design documentary ExpelledÂ (a documentary that he was interviewed for); and he led a contingent of 300+ members of the Secular Student Alliance on a mocking visit to the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. Controversy notwithstanding, Myers was named Humanist of the Year in 2009 by the American Humanist Association.

March 9, 2014 – The 13-part science documentary series COSMOS: A Spacetime Odyssey, a follow-up to Carl Sagan’s pioneering 1980 PBS series COSMOS: A Personal Voyage, premieres on the FOX network. PresentedÂ by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, the series was generally well-received, although it was criticized by some for perceived negative portrayal of religious beliefs.